Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Nicastro charged, pleads not guilty to two counts of rape

Boston University
men’s hockey defenseman Max Nicastro pleaded not guilty to two counts of
rape at a Brighton District Court arraignment Tuesday morning.

After being arrested Sunday at 6:30 a.m. by Boston University police Nicastro, 21, was held in jail until his arraignment.

If convicted, Nicastro, a junior, could face up to 20 years in state prison.

He
was released Tuesday on $10,000 bail under a no-contact order
forbidding him from having any direct or third-party contact with the
alleged victim.

He is due back in court on March 26 for a probable cause hearing.

While
the case is ongoing, he is permitted to return to his home state of
California. Nicastro has also been suspended indefinitely from the
Boston University hockey team.

BU spokesman Colin Riley said Tuesday afternoon Nicastro is “currently not enrolled at the university.”

“We
have to do a fact-finding and investigation,” Riley said. “We get
information from the student who is accusing the other student as well
as the accused, and what we try to do is determine whether or not the
student has violated the university’s code of student responsibilities,
and that deals with the status of a student to be here. And if we
believe a student has violated the code, then we make appropriate
sanctions.

“In this case, for something like a sexual assault, the
sanctions tend to be more on the severe side of things, but we first
have to do an investigation to make a determination.”

Nicastro
entered the courtroom on Tuesday in handcuffs. His mother, who had flown
to Boston from California, was in the room for the arraignment.
Nicastro covered his face throughout the arraignment with a legal pad.

Prosecuting
attorney Gloriann Moroney said the alleged victim received medical
treatment and underwent medical testing at Beth Israel Deaconess Center
after the incident, which occurred on campus early Sunday morning. She
was later released from the hospital.

The police report was impounded by the court and will not be released to the public due to the sensitive nature of the case.

During the arraignment, Hugh Curran, Nicastro’s attorney, said that Nicastro committed no criminal act.
The defense made a motion during the arraignment to preserve surveillance camera videos as evidence in connection with the case.

Through
three seasons with the BU hockey team, Nicastro has played in 102
games, in which he has recorded 11 goals and 22 assists. He was drafted
in the third round of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings.

Riley
said the university will continue to hold informational sessions about
sexual assault on campus to raise awareness of the issue, but students
must ultimately hold themselves responsible for their own decisions.

“We
can certainly have sessions and there are sessions that student
organizations do, that Student Health does. There are quick sort of
things that we point out to people,” Riley said. “We can do all the
sessions we want, but ultimately this comes down to people stopping and
taking a little stock about how they are engaged with other people, how
they treat other people. So I hope that we can have more of an
opportunity to have discussions, individually.”

For the victims of
sexual violence and their friends and families, Riley said the
university can provide support and resources in various ways.

“In
the case of sexual assault, there are any number of agencies near the
university or in Massachusetts that we work with too,” he said. “And I
often remind people that this is the kind of thing that not only affects
a single victim who may have been involved, but also friends and
family, and we like to make sure that particularly those friends and
family – [who are also part of the BU community – that we also reach out
to them and offer them assistance too.”

In a press release,
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley urged victims of any
sexual violence to first call 911. Additional help for victims of sexual
violence is available through the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center’s
24-hour hotline at 800-841-8371.

Rest of the players? You are an absolute jerk! This is something he did by himself. How in the world would you even attempt to tie in other individuals that were no where around when this happened? Please crawl back under your rock.

How is this Parker's fault? He has done everything over the years to weed out these jerks and he will continue to do so. If you don't understand this than you nothing about the way B.U. hockey has operated over the past 40 years, as I do.

If you don't bring in a lot of jerks there aren't a lot to weed out. BU has kicked more people out of their program than just about any other one in the country. Don't tell me you think it's because Parker is the most strict coach in the country.

how is any of this Parker's fault, will people STOP with that nonsense?? Jack hasn't been recruiting the best "citizens" but he has no say over their bad decisions AWAY from the rink...we need to start focusing on the victims and the unfortunate incidents involving Max and Trivino (regardless of whether they are found innocent or guilty in the end)...hockey is NOT relevant at this point!

You say Jack has not been recruiting the "best citizens" but it is not fault that they do what they do? He is responsible for the type of "student" brought on campus. I don't know what has happened to Mr Parker. In the past the "kids" recruited went on to be, for the most part, outstanding adults. I think that he has gotten so far away from the program that Bavis has been put in charge. He has not done a great job vis a vis BC. I understand that one of the recruited freshmen has a felony on his record for larceny. With only a handful of new players this year why was not this checked and if it was why was he recruited. This player is not even high profile. What the hell is going on here? Where is Dr Brown. As an old alum and almost fifty year hockey fan I am disgusted.

I think Parker has recruited more than enough solid citizens. There is always going to be a few bad apples. But look at Shattenkirk who graduated in three years, took summer courses. Ryan Ruikka is finishing his master's. Luke Popko also graduated with a minor degree, and he majored in economics. Anyways it's not like Trivino and Nicastro were just recruited by BU, both were highly recruited by other big name schools, and they chose where to play.

Out of the 30 students involved in this, only 4 are known to be BU students. None are hockey players. Those affiliated with BU are believed to be members of the Ski Club (not a varsity sport, a student-run club).

I'm tired of everyone blaming Parker. While he isn't innocent where is Dean Elmore? Most schools require students to take a course on Alcohol. What about a course on Sexual Assault and/or Harassment? He did a PSA after the fire but did they do anything after the Trivino situation? Where were Nicastro's teammates? Why didn't they take him home or stop him from going with the girl? The team should finish the season and be done. No Hockey East tournament, No Frozen Four. While boys may be boys, its time for them to realize that No means No.

Don't indict the whole team, that's not fair. They have a right to finish the season for themselves their fans, the school, and the alumni supporters. They are a very good team and showed their character after the Trivino incident. Why don't you take a look at all the misdeeds of B.C. athletics including game fixing and point shaving scandals in their history, or Penn State football which COVERED UP atrocities for YEARS!

The more you talk about BC and Penn State and NOT BU, the more you make our school look ignorant. This has nothing to do with BC or Penn State. This is about BU and addressing the problem here. WAKE UP and help address this problem and help fix it!

leave it to the classy hicks at UVM to take a sexual assault on a young woman and turn it into a profane chant at a hockey game. I'm sure the young woman in question will be glad to know that her misfortune will be the topic of a whole arena's obnoxious screaming this weekend.

Again, I have checked USCHO every day since Nicastro was arrested and I have seen nothing about any other BU players being in trouble. Please tell us where USCHO has said what you say. Enough unfounded rumors.